what to upgrade first...

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PMcConnell

PMcConnell

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Mar 8, 2013
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10,510
I am trying to figure out what I should upgrade first, my gpu, or cpu and mb.
My PC is primarily used for gaming, mostly Battlefield 3.

Here is my current set up...

Motherboard: Gigabyte Model: GA-MA785GM-US2H
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9750 Quad-Core Processor~2.4GHz
Memory (DDR2): 4GB RAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (1GB)
Power Supply: Antec 650W

Is my current gpu getting bottlenecked by the rest of my pc?
Will I see dramtic improvements in my fps in gaming?
I cannot afford to upgrade both my gpu and cpu/mobo at the same time. Which purchase will show the most improvement?
Thanks guys..
 
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lunyone

lunyone

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Feb 22, 2006
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I would upgrade to the PhII x4 955/965 while you can (about $100 for the 965 right now). Then if you have more budget down the road you could upgrade to the 7850/7870/7950 if you have the $ for it. I don't think the 4 gb's of RAM should be too much of an issue in general to hold you back, so your probably better off upgrading the CPU now and the GPU later, if you can. The GTX 650 is a lower end gaming GPU, but is okay in general, depending on your monitor resolution.
 
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PMcConnell

PMcConnell

Honorable
Mar 8, 2013
11
0
10,510
I found the 965 on tigerdirect for $95. Will that improve my gameplay compared to what i have now?
I was wondering if upgrading the cpu on a mb that cant even handle DDR 3 ram is even worth it? Why not spend the bit extra and get a new mb and processor for only about $100 more.


 
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lunyone

lunyone

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Feb 22, 2006
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If you can afford that then do it. I personally would get the 990FX mobo, but they are a bit spendy (>$120). The 970 based mobo's are a bit more affordable around $75 on up.
 
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lunyone

lunyone

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Feb 22, 2006
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Yeah there is that too. I also forgot to mention that the upgrade to the newer mobo wouldn't allow him to transfer over his existing DDR2, so he would need to purchase at least 2 x 2 gb of DDR3 to complete his upgrade (~$30-35 more for that). So in reality it is almost better to upgrade just the CPU for now, if the OP likes. Most games are GPU dependent, so getting a 7850 for about $160ish would probably make gaming a bit better. There will times that the CPU will bottleneck the gaming, but generally the GPU is the bottleneck in games.
 
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lunyone

lunyone

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Feb 22, 2006
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Either will do just fine. the 6 core is actually like a Triple Core x 2 (I think AMD calls them Modules), but I would probably get the 6 Core one that you linked, if it was my $.
 
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